When it comes to demolition, the industry has come a long way from the days of a crane and large metal ball, notes Walter Reeves, national sales director of demolition, Volvo Construction.
These days, contractors dissect a structure with the use of attachments, he adds.
Not only do attachments offer efficiencies and productivity, but they address other job site challenges as well.
“In today’s fast-paced and changing world, many contractors face labor shortages and safety challenges,” notes Joanna Tomczyk, sales director, engcon USA, adding that those in the US and Canadian construction industry want a solution to be more efficient and increase profits.
Hydraulic breakers are the most important attachments on a demolition site, says Peter Bigwood, vice president for sales and marketing for Brokk.
Hydraulic breakers have a high level of breaking forces to power through materials quickly, notes Rich Elliott, product manager of hydraulic attachments for Epiroc.
“They also require minimal routine maintenance, which makes them a cost-effective option with minimal downtime,” he adds. “Epiroc hydraulic breakers range from the SB52 with an operating weight of approximately 120 pounds to the HB10000 with an operating weight of 22,000 pounds.”
After initially using a large, heavy breaker to begin the demolition process on construction sites, smaller breakers can be used to break down the concrete materials prior to screening and crushing, says Elliott, adding that the materials can then be recycled or reused.
The total number of hydraulic breakers can vary from site to site depending on production levels, the type of material being demolished, and the entire scope of the operation, he adds.
Crawler excavators are regularly paired with breakers to perform routine demolition tasks, says Aaron Kleingartner, marketing manager, Doosan Infracore North America.
“The machines’ steel tracks make them ideal for traveling across broken concrete,” he says. “Excavator operators have good visibility from the cab to effectively break concrete and demolish structures.”
Hammer or hydraulic breaker attachments are essential to break up concrete, pavement, and rock that a contractor will run into on a job, says Julie Simmonds, marketing coordinator for Breaker Technology, adding they can also be used for trenching.
Jason Simmons, John Deere attachments engineering supervisor, concurs, saying hydraulic hammers for small demolition equipment such as skid steers, compact track loaders, and mini excavators break concrete flatwork, walls, or concrete structures around rebar, with large hammers used for bigger jobs.
John Deere’s four hydraulic hammer models—the HH20C, HH40C, HH60C, and HH80C—have been redesigned to provide two to three times more blows per minute (BPM).
Paul Fabrizius, Caterpillar work tool specialist, says grapples are the first attachment demolition contractors purchase because they are the primary takedown and sorting attachment on a non-concrete demolition site.
Caterpillar offers four different styles of grapples: demolition and sorting, contractors, thumbs, and trash.
Rock and scrap grapple buckets—including John Deere’s redesigned GS and GR models—are useful attachments to move material and clean up on job sites, Simmons says.
Brokk’s demolition grapple has hydraulic rotation, enabling a 360-degree continuous rotation.
“It’s strong enough for interior demolition to poke through dry walls, grab onto studs, pull the whole wall down, reach up and pull down mechanicals, pipes, and cable,” says Bigwood.
Multi Grapples are used for dismantling structures of all types as well as for loading and sorting various materials, says Elliott.
Epiroc Multi-Grapples feature 360-degree endless hydraulic rotation which enables optimal positioning and precise handling.
“Once the material has been demolished and some level of cleanup and debris removal is complete, you’re going to want a hopper or broom on a skid-steer or compact track loader to pick up and move some of that smaller debris,” notes Simmons.
For larger demolition projects with bigger construction equipment, a coupler is a must, says Simmons.
“These machines need to switch between attachments. A hydraulic coupler will help make that change in just a few seconds so the contractor can pick up the right attachment for the machine and help increase the productivity,” he adds.
Steelwrist manufactures an SQ coupler designed to fit on any machine. The coupler enables a contractor to change hydraulic attachments, shear, breakers, rotating grapples, screening buckets, and any other tool used within demolition without having to get out of the cab to undo hoses, notes Christian Yanes, president, Steelwrist North America.
“A switch of attachment goes from five to twenty minutes to be able to change the tool within 30 seconds,” he adds. “Contractors will switch attachments more often so that they have the right attachment for the right job and therefore not damage attachments by using them wrongly.
“It also makes the job site safer as attachments can be changed without having people working around the hydraulic work tools that are normally big, heavy, and with lots of hydraulic pressure.”
A backhoe or excavator with a hydraulic thumb helps an operator maneuver and position debris for removal.
“Excavator operators can use the thumb in combination with a bucket to sort or grab demolition debris and lift and place it in a truck or container,” says Kleingartner. “Operators can easily control and vary the speed at which a two-way hydraulic attachment functions, such as opening and closing a thumb with the roller switch on the excavator’s right joystick. A variety of thumb widths are available for crawler excavator models.”
Walter Reeves, national sales director for demolition for North America for Volvo, notes that the average demolition contractor tends to first use a processor with combination jaws for general concrete structures, then a shear, then a hammer, and at the end, a thumb.
A processor with combination jaws enables a contractor to remove the crushing jaws, put in the cracking jaws, take them out, and put in shear jaws, giving the powerhead three different purposes, notes Reeves.
Concrete crushers—also known as processors—are another important attachment to have on a job site, says Bigwood.
Examples of crushers are concrete busters such as those offered through the Epiroc CB range and combi cutters, such as found in the Epiroc CC line.
Concrete busters are used for cracking and breaking foundations where noise pollution and/or vibrations cannot be tolerated on the specific job site.
“These also are used on mini-excavators for small/medium concrete demolition projects,” he says. “Combi cutters are optimal for demolition sites with multiple different material types to be crushed, cut, or pulverized.”
These units come with optional jaw sets, including a universal version for crushing concrete with blades in the back of the jaw for cutting rebar, a steel cutting version set for cutting structural steel, and a pulverizer version for crushing and separating concrete and masonry from steel.
The IronWolf Crusher and Slasher attachments are designed to enable a contractor to complete a job with one piece of equipment and are capable of multiple uses, says Bo Vandergriff, IronWolf sales/rental manager.
“The Crusher can create three-inch minus material out of rock, concrete, and asphalt, allowing contractors to cost-effectively complete site excavation and road construction projects,” says Vandergriff.
“It eliminates the need to hammer, rip, or blast rock on various types of projects. The Slasher can clear trees plus crush rock and frozen tundra. The Slasher is an excellent tool for oil/gas projects in extreme, isolated environments.”
Demolition contractors need a pulverizer to crush concrete and separate the rebar, says Simmonds.
Demolition pulverizers can be used for primary demolition, while bulk pulverizers can be used to separate material from concrete once the material is on the ground, notes Elliott.
Steel shears also are found on demolition job sites and are attached to large excavators. Brokk’s Multi-Cutter shear—the MC200 and MC300—can cut steel beams, steel cables, steel pipe, or metal beams.
“They are shears in the sense that they will shear metal, but they have a very narrow profile and can reach up in confined space where typically in interior demolition a more traditional shear would be too large to be used,” says Bigwood.
“A compactor allows the contractor to compact soil to local proctor densities after back-filling where settling the ground is necessary,” says Simmonds. “This attachment is simple to use and more efficient than a roller compactor. The attachment can easily be changed on the job site. It’s also good for pile driving.”
The most essential attachment for contractors depends on the type of work that will be performed, points out Francois Martin, KINSHOFER North America general manager.
“From primary to secondary demolition and rebar-enforced concrete to wood and brick, the application should be the first factor to guide an attachment choice,” says Martin.
When starting to demolish a structure, multi-quick processors, shears, hydraulic breakers, demolition grapples, pulverizers, and crushers tend to be the top picks for primary demolition, says Martin, adding that the choice depends on the material type and how it needs to be broken up.
For example, crusher and pulverizer attachments best tackle jobs made up of mostly concrete.
“If concrete isn’t part of the demolition picture but steel is, a demolition processor with shear jaws or mobile shear attachment will work best,” says Martin. “For tackling rock or large-scale demolition projects, a hydraulic breaker is often a good choice.
“When working jobs with light materials such as wood and brick commonly found in residential demolition, use a demolition grapple. Besides breaking apart materials, rotating grapples work well for sorting during secondary demolition and increase versatility and productivity by allowing a wide range of movement.”
Fabrizius notes for concrete structures, contractors will use Cat multi-processors, Cat hammers, and Cat secondary pulverizers for primary and secondary demolition.
For heavy steel structure demolition, contractors utilize Cat scrap and demolition shears or a Cat multi-processor with shear jaws.
Tomczyk notes that the most essential attachments desired by contractors are the engcon EC-Oil Quick Coupler System, engcon tiltrotators, detachable grab, buckets, DC2 control system, and the stone and sorting grab.
For demolition, Leading Edge Attachments provides a Multi-Ripper, grapples, and the Fang Rake which acts as a grapple when used with a thumb, says company owner Lee Horton.
“Typically, the Multi-Ripper is used for ripping rock like limestone, sandstone, coral, and frost caliche,” says Horton. “However, it will rip concrete four times faster than a hammer depending on how thick the concrete is and whether or not it is steel-reinforced.”
Ultimately, the use of attachments serves the contractor in efficiency and productivity.
Epiroc Combi Cutters increase efficiency due to the multiple jaw sets that can be kept onsite and changed in 30 minutes or less, notes Elliott.
“This is due to the Centering and Positioning System, which aligns the jaw set into the frame when installing,” he adds. “Our Multi Grapples have a 360-degree rotation that enables operators to easily rotate the jaws of the grapple to pick up material regardless of how it is positioned.”
A popular feature of Doosan crawler excavators that increases productivity is selectable work modes, notes Kleingartner.
“The Breaker mode is ideal for attachments that only require hydraulic power from one direction,” he says. “The mode maintains consistent downward pressure for maximum attachment performance and component protection.”
Installing a quick coupler makes it easier for operators to switch between different demolition attachments, Kleingartner says.
“For example, excavator operators can transition from using different size buckets without getting out of the cab. Wheel loader operators can switch between buckets and pallet forks, depending on what they need to move on the demolition site,” he adds.
In designing for efficiency and productivity, Cat considers the attachments and the machines they are mounted on as a Cat System Solution to deliver the best production on the total attachment and machine size package, says Fabrizius.
Case in point: the 336F Straight Boom Excavators with 45 feet of vertical reach and the new MP332 with a cycle time of 3.2 seconds.
The new Cat GSH420 and GSH520 orange-peel grapples replace the GSH15B Series grapples. Their application range includes handling shredded scrap. The new grapples feature horizontal placement of the cylinders, enabling effective material penetration and efficient bulk material handling. The grapples are available in four-tine and five-tine shell configurations and in closed or semi-open versions.
The GSH420 and GSH520 feature a rotation system designed to work with the Cat MH3022, MH3024, and MH3026 material handlers.
The HR10 rotation group—featuring a new swivel—significantly reduces hydraulic restriction by increasing return-flow capacity by 160% and by increasing open-flow capacity by 30%. Less restriction results in faster cycles and a lower fuel burn.
The engcon tiltrotator and attachments are essential to enabling contractors to be more profitable, efficient, flexible, and safe, says Tomczyk.
“Through utilizing the tiltrotator with EC-Oil, an operator will no longer have to leave a cab to unhook and hook the hoses,” says Tomczyk. ”To disconnect the tiltrotator or attachments or to go directly from a bucket to a stone and sorting grab, for example, takes less than 10 seconds and is performed directly from the cab.”
The tiltrotator enables the operator to tilt at a 45-degree angle and rotate a full 360 degrees. The operator can perform the task without needing to reposition the excavator.
”This results in less fuel consumption and less wear and tear on the machine,” says Tomczyk. ”As the operator limits a need to reposition the excavator, he or she is able to work in tight spaces and challenging locations.”
The engcon tiltrotator transforms the excavator into a complete tool carrier that allows contractors to increase their efficiency 30 to 80%, depending on the type of work being performed, notes Tomczyk.
The equipment on which attachments are placed is as significant as the attachments themselves.
“An excavator is like the base of a Swiss army knife and the attachments are the tools that are easily interchangeable for the various jobs a contractor needs to do,” says Simmonds. “Not all attachments perform the same as some are more efficient than others depending on how they are engineered and how they interact with the carrier.”
Breaker Technology designs its attachments in order to offer high production rates, she adds.
Jobs can be completed faster by carefully considering the most applicable attachment for each project, says Martin.
“When it comes to multi-quick processors, the attachments allow demolition and recycling industry contractors to use one attachment with several jaw sets instead of buying several tools for different applications. By enabling contractors to complete more jobs with fewer pieces of equipment, they boost profitability and expand their business. Overall, the goal is to do more with less.”
Greg Bair Trackhoe Services in Overland Park, KS, is primarily a demolition company and uses Volvo excavators for the versatility he says they offer in accommodating a range of attachments.
Bair says his most desired attachment is a hydraulic hammer.
“Excavators need it to break rock,” he says. “Demolition guys need it to break concrete. You can use it for quite a few things. You can put different bits in the hammer to make that hammer have more qualities for that particular application, such as underwater or breaking concrete. You would want a different bit than you would for breaking rock or, in our case, we hoe ram down big silos for power plants.”
Another go-to attachment for Bair is a bucket or hydraulic thumb.
“There are new buckets out there that are a bucket with its own thumb built right into it. It takes auxiliary hydraulics,” says Bair. “You can dig with it. You can grab stuff with it. You can use it to sort concrete from wood. With an excavator, it’s great for tearing down trees and loading trees. It’s a very versatile bucket that allows you full movement.”
Bair cautions contractors that they should not spend money on something for which a machine is not equipped.
“There are attachments for your attachments,” he says. “You need to look at those options when you are buying one of them to know. You’ve also got to know your machine is equipped to handle multiple bidirectional hydraulics.”